
Class ^S3545L. 

GopightN"—^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



WOVEN OF DREAMS. 



WOVEN OF DREAMS. 



BY BLANCHE SHOEMAKER. vvaf.H 

AUTHOR OF "THE SONG OF YOUTH" 



NEW YORK. 

JOHN LANE COMPANY, 

MCMVIL 



COPYRIGHT, 1967, 

BY JOHN LANE COMPANY. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

MAk 9 1907 

^^ Copyright Entry 
CLASS ^ XXc, No. 
'COFT B. 



"T^^^'vJt 



j\^ 



\10 



Dedication. 

I care not if the world knows who thou art, 

Oh Loveliness, that set my soul at rest; 

My love for thee stands nobly sweet con- 
fessed. 
Heaven's acknowledgment and counterpart. 
Ah, through thee only can I gain my fame, 

Thou moon-star of my night's forsaken 
ways; 

And all life's gathered glory is to praise 
Thee, oh my Heaven and my Love the same. 



CONTENTS. 

tAGE 

Sonnets .<,» ••»,.. 9 

Youth's Journey 29 

Gathered Petals 87 

Woven of Dreams 105 



SONNETS 



I. The Rider (Mexico). 

Just as the mount upon his sprightly steed 

Rides on from day to day thro' plain and 

glen, 
Climbing the hill, to but descend again, 

Knowing infinitude of change and need 

When dawn the dreary dark does supersede, 
Living uncertain of each jump he takes. 
Fearful lest haste will cause him dire mis- 
takes, 

Knowing not where his horse's footsteps lead, — 

So are we all lone riders on life's plain; 
Before us lie the hilly ascents steep. 
Which we in turn must take and cross the 
deep 

Broad seas of sorrow and descend again. 
Little we know our destiny each day, 
We journey on thro' the untrodden way! 



II 



II. The Master. 

There are no joys in Life retainable ; 

Delight eludes as the dear lips of one 
We love and long to kiss, but have not won. 

Strive as we will, or struggle mayhap well, 

Our victory but half our struggles tell. 

Ambition sways us to attempt the great, 
And lo! we find our effort comes too late, — 

We could not conquer ere ambition fell. 

We seek our share of happiness and when 
Heart-strengthened ecstasy imbues us, then 
Ere we have lived, we pass into the grave. 
We all lose Love, and try to love once more, — 
We all achieve awhile, and it is o'er, 

For Time is Master, — man the hapless 
slave. 



12 



III. Sunward. 

Just as the leaves lean sunward on the trees, 
Yearning toward their sweet goal of vis- 
ible light, 
And weeping at the first faint signs of 
night, 
The estranging dark that brings surcease of 

ease ; 
So I lean heavenward toward fond ecstasies 
That are begot of your proximity, — 
E'en if the desert's cold inveteracy, 
Between us lies, or the stern sundering seas. 

No matter in what region or what clime, 

Whether soul-starved, or fed with blisses 

sweet, 
Beneath the impotence of fettered feet 
I faint and yearn toward you, oh Love sub- 
lime, 
And with the gradual growth of youth, my time 
Is wholly spent in prayers that we shall 
meet! 



13 



IV. The Glen. 

Sweet sheltered spot of Love's first utterance, 
The golden shadows strewn upon the grass, 
The cloud-pale images that come and pass 

Upon the lake's edge where the ripples dance. 

Flower-like eddies glistening as they glance 
Upon the waters that the winds harass. 
The hyacinth-pale light that lives, alas! 

Only a while till dark's deliverance. 

The song-thrilled air, in pauseless ecstasy. 

Hangs odorous and sweet upon the spot; 
The hanging trees display their amorous 
lot. 

And meet above the cloistered sanctuary. 
Sequestered glen that knows so fully of 
The rapturous infinitude of love! 



H 



V. In Defiance. 

Ah sweet, would that Love could all Time defy! 

And rose-crowned in unending glory last 

Thro'out Eternity, when Life has passed. 
The timeless tide of Joy should never die. 
For sovereign Love should see Death pass it 
by... 

Fierce sweeps the strengthenful sea imperi- 
ous, 

Defiant of the changing years, and thus 
Love should Eternity exemplify. 

But ah, the ceaseless current of the years 
Sweeps on, and sunders Love from us, — as tears 

Our wept hearts lose, do ne'er return again. 
Oh love-sown soul of mine that dreads the day 
Dejected Love will sadly steal away, — 

Time's penalty is Love shall ever wane. 



15 



VI. Glorification. 

Because thou lov'st me I am glorified; 

Like some dim star the moonshine falls 
upon, 

Making it luminant with a radiance won. 
And I have only to reach thy sweet side 
To be o'ershowered with joy, and mystified 

With multitudes of hope. Mortality 

Assumes an infinite guise in hours with 
thee; 
The bonds of flesh seem utterly defied. 

Because I live within the circle of 

Thy charmed devotion, dear, I dwell apart, 
A tenant of thy purity of heart, 

Inheritage of thy eternal love. 

Oh winged soul of mine, so quick to soar, 
Blessed by thy love, — in life, I want no 
morel 



i6 



VII. I Cannot Live Without Thee. 

I cannot live without thee, for in vain 

My aimless soul seeks solace everywhere, 
Faltering thro'out the garden lands, aware 

Of thy dear absence; sweet, I suffer pain! 

The lonely afternoons refuse to wane, 

The desolate nights that once were fond 

and fair, — 
The sense of destitution in the air, — 

Oh, sweet, I crave thy loveliness again! 

I dread the futile foe of life that binds 

Me fettered to a land that knows thee not; 

Love's scattered garlands I have not forgot. 
Nor the bruised buds of passion my soul finds 

Strewn on its memory path; Death, visit 
me, 

Rather than face a future without thee! 



17 



VIIL Ah, What if Thou Shouldst 
Cease to Love! 

Ah, what if thou shouldst cease to love me, dear. 
Within the future days that should be 

sweet! 
Fidelity is sometimes very fleet, 
And joy is briefer than a sun-drowned tear. 
To-day, and happiness is really here. 

Yet who knows what the undreamed mor- 
row brings? 
Love is a rootless flower that sudden 
springs, 
A blossom of the soul too quick to veer. 

Suppose cold, uncaressive finger-tips 

Should kill the life of Love until it paled. 
And thou, my guardian flower that glowed, 
and failed. 
Should cease to crave allegiance of my lips! 
Ah, Sweet, if this sad hour should ever be, 
'Twere better I die now, whilst trusting 
thee! 



i8 



IX. The Infinite. 

When but a fearful child, afraid of night, 

It was my pleasure to steal off, and sit 
Close by the darkening sea. . . . Ah, what de- 
light 

I felt so near to that vast Infinite! 
Beside me, veering to the water's edge 

There fell the steepest cliff — if I but turned 
To gaze at shadows sweeping o'er the ledge, 

I would have been no more, — yet I dis- 
cerned 
A charm in being thus alone, with not 

A hand between Eternity and me. . . . 
A woman now. These hours loom unforgot 

Luring my soul with a lost ecstasy. 

And dear, on meeting your strange eyes, I then 
Looked out upon the Infinite again! 



19 



X. You Say Great Love Gives Freely. 

You say great love gives freely of its prize, 

And like an open flower with heart laid 

bare, 
Sheds fragrant sweetness on the desert air. 
The petalled loveliness that deeply lies 
Grows perfecter revealed to human eyes; 

Whilst the unopened bud that seems so fair 
Shrinks into unobservance, hidden where 
A love's unheeded plea grows old and dies. 

So sweet, the fulness of a perfect love, 

Without restraining sense, I proffer thee, 
Let me but give you unreservedly 
A fond heart's depths that you had ne'er 
dreamed of. 
Until the flower-heart shall its petals shed. 
And life shall end, and we shall both be 
dead. 



20 



XL Oh! I am Sick at Heart. 

Oh! I am sick at heart, and bowed with woe, 
Fearful of Love's inveterate changefulness; 
Desolate at the thought of happiness 

So slow to come, and yet so quick to go I 

The tyranny of Time's momentous flow, 
The sad sea's tide estranging a caress, 
The weight of unappeasable distress, — 

Oh, heart's despair, that I should suffer so! 

Some day there may be calm for me, a rest 

From Love's poor tribulation; but to-day 
The burdens of my doubt so heavy weigh 

By terrifying fears I seem possessed. 
I am so sad, so very weary of 
The tearful turbulence that comes with 
love! 



21 



XII. Forsaken. 

All to you then, and nothing to you now! 

What constitutes this freak of destiny? — 
That but last night together we did bow 

Beneath a halo of great ecstasy, 
And with joined hands and happy hearts allied 

We faced the future with much confidence : 
There seemed no other hour to come; the tide 

Of happiness engulfed our ev'ry sense. 
Had I refrained, dear one, from loving you, 

I might still be beside you, — knowing not 
Of Love, with all its gall, and sweetness, too. . . . 

But, ah, 'twas you who lov'd and you for- 
got— 
While I embittered and deserted stand, 
Remembering your last word and touch of 
hand. 



22 



XIII. Discontent. 

My heart is heavy with the height attained, 
O'erburdened with a multitude of joy, — 
Bowed with a bliss no Time can e'er de- 
stroy, 
Weak from the carried crown of joy main- 
tained. 
When woe was mine how loud my heart com- 
plained; 
How great my tears' downfall; how keen, 

despair! 
How strong the pangs; how manifold the 
care; 
So great that present bliss might well seem 
feigned. 

Yet, ah, the weight of happiness I bear, — 
A sun-born progeny that stills my heart. 
Immeasurable delight from life apart, 

As wave-shine in the glory of thy hair. 

Whence came this burden of ecstatic bliss? 
Why should I murmur that my fate is this? 



23 



XIV. A Resolve. 

Yea, I shall give you up, and go my way 

Unweeping, without hope of a return. . . . 
This is the lesson that we all must learn 

Before Youth dies, and Age has come to stay: 

To give up joy at its full height, and lay 
Love in its early grave e'er it has died, 
And to renounce, e'er one is satisfied. 

And thus mature or waning passions slay. 

Seek for the night e'er comes the end of day! 
So shall I leave you with my tears unshed, 
Going my way to number with the dead — 

And tho' I love you so, still I must say 

Farewell, and ne'er come back to you 

again,— 
And thus we shall be spared our poor love s 
wane. 



24 



XV. On Guido Reni's " St. Sebastian" 
in the Louvre. 

The pale averted face in misery 

Of speechless anguish from the watcher 

turned; 
The soulful eyes that infinitely have 
yearned 
Towards some dim goal that lured invisibly; 
The ageless torture in the indrawn knee; 

The suffering posture of the body bent; 
The heart pierced with the arrow cruelly 
sent; — 
An image of distressed humility. 

Beyond the piteous form a pale sky lies 

Shot thro' with amber clouds and violet 

hues; 
The shadowy foliage clustering round the 
bruise 
The poor heart holds, — the wound that never 

dies, 
But stains his side with scarlet. Can one's eyes 
A memory of this canvas ever lose! 



25 



XVI. On Nietzsche's " Zarathustra.'' 

Mad gospel of an anti-Christ, who knew 
But little of the life he sought to show, 
Spending his days in mental misery so, 

With dissipated strength nought could renew, — 

Why this strange theory that things tried and 
true 
Should be abolished? Superseded by 
The revolutionary things that die? 

Surely these doctrines were not lived by you. 

I deemed, oh Erisichthon, that you meant 

These doctrines, and I drank them word 

by word, — 
Stranger than eye had read or ear had heard 
Since life began or destiny was spent, — 
Yet in my great incredulous wonderment 

I faced the world of thought your words 
had stirred. . . . 



26 



XVII. On Rossetti's " House of Life.' 

Oh, immemorial monument of verse, 

Eternal tower of perfectness too great 
For pen to adequately estimate, 

No limitless expressions can rehearse 

Thy scope of beauty; nor no Time immerse 
Thy immortality. Thy sonnets are 
As lovely as the wonder of a star 

That is in touch with all the universe. 

And no contemporary verse can e'er 
Arise to thy supremacy. Thou art 
A peer without a chance of counterpart; 

A '^ House of Life " to which nought can com- 
pare. 

Oh, lasting structure age will not impair, 
The monument a mortal did impart! 



27 



XVIII. On Swinburne's ^^ Tristam of 
Lyonnesse." 

Oh wonder tale of love and bravery, 

Of unfeigned courage and impassioned 
strength, 

Of valorous fondness of an endless length, 
Of fortitude and wrong's humility, 
Of frenzied longing and propinquity. 

Of gradual justice dawning breath by 
breath. 

Until the crowning hour of uniting Death, 
The eventful end of Love's sad secrecy. 

Twin-souls that found felicity in fate 

Not on this earth, but in the one to come; 
Released at last from their life's martyr- 
dom. 
United thus, their severance expiate. 
Oh, well and grandly hast thou sung the great 
Eternal tale of Love whence life comes 
from! 



28 



YOUTH'S JOURNEY, 



29 



Villanelle of Youth. 

Youth's happy garnered hours: 

What is sweeter than May? 
Life's dawn with its gathered flowers. 

Sunshine illumes love's bowers 

But for the length of a day; 
Youth's happy garnered hours. 

Sweet are the sunfall showers 

That are strewn across our way; 
Life's dawn with its gathered flowers. 

Lovely and brief Youth's dowers, 
Hope is the heart's mainstay. 
Youth's happy garnered hours! 

Dauntless the dreams of ours, 
Splendid the fancy's stray, 
Life's dawn with its gathered flowers. 

Of all immortal powers. 

Youth is better than they; 
Youth's happy garnered hours, 
Life's dawn with its gathered flowers! 



31 



The Journey. 

Each heart-beat brings me nearer to the goal, 
To that desired, divine felicity, — 

A nearness to the radiance of your soul. 
Within which glory I so long to be. 

Each indrawn breath is but a presage of 

The passing instants that will culminate 

In final joy exquisite, hours of love 

My wondering soul dares not anticipate. 

Each foot-fall on the leaf-strewn paths proclaims 
My journey's end is near, and o'er my way 

A wondrous light has risen that acclaims 

The coming dawn of love's perpetual day. 



32 



Heloise to Abelard. 

We shall be one eventually, — if not 

Here on God's earth then in His Heaven 

above, 
Where severance we can expiate with love, 

Where all earth's deprivations are forgot. 

We shall be one eventually, — no hand 

Can hold us e'er apart, — tho' life may bind. 
Surely in Death's deep power we shall find 

The mingled blessedness of love's own land! 

We shall be one eventually, — I know 
Eternity is sweet and kind to those 
Who suffer thro'out life until its close, — 

No God could keep our souls in severance so! 



33 



Time. 

What slaves we are of Time! 

The tyrant of our soul's delight, 

The cruel slayer of our hopefulness, 

The potent dispeller of our charms, 

The master builder of our aims. 

The stormy dethroner of success. 

The abolition of all things. 

The stern unyielding force that kills; 

That rears our joys and fells them down again, 

That soothes our sorrows and allays our fears. 

That arrests our loves and banishes our wants, 

That brings fulfillment in an hour. 

That hurls grief on stricken souls, . . . 

What abject slaves are we 

To that Immortal hand of Time 

In whose defence man has so little, 

And in whose name our impotence 

Is pitiable but true. 



34 



On the Bridge. 



Gazing over the gleaming rail, 

Into the depths below, 

The vague mysteries of dark 

Swarming before my sight. 

The faint flicker of wind 

Thro' the mists. 

The stir of shadows over 

The quiet waters that stir not, 

Breathless my soul with expectancy, 

Supreme the silence, 

Strange as death the hour. . . 

Then a flutter of wings, the beat 

Of flying breasts thro' the air, — 

The passage of something unseen 

Out from the depths of my soul: 

The Spirit of Love departs 

Upward over the waters; 

Nought can stay its flight. 

While I stand leaning over the bridge. 

Aged and alone, the night empty and void,- 

Stricken and sad my desolate soul! 



35 



The Blind Man. 

The pulse of sound throbs in his breast; 

A great eternal, sad unrest 

Beats in his veins. His haunting eyes 

Seek everywhere for dawn. Perpetual night 

Is his intolerable plight. 

Dark without pause, or soothing, sweet sunrise! 

Longing unceasingly for much 

Without his powerless grasp; the touch 

Of hands well-loved; only the voice 

His heart hears, hearkening to rejoice — 

These must suffice the wanderer 

Whose senses sounds alone can stir: 

Ah, hapless soul, within Life's night 

Ever desiring, e'er bereft of sight! 



36 



By the Shores of Acheron. 

We are in Sorrow's land to-day — 

Where shall we go? 
What shall we do to drive away 

Our soul's despairing woe? 
Unutterable presaging 

Of coming sadness more; 
Suggestion of a vanished Spring, 

And bliss passed o'er. 
We are in Sorrow's land to-day: 

Weeping delight 
Of love's glad hours is past away. 

This is life's night, — 
Dawnless and drear as Death's dim hour, 

Sorrow is by; 
Unwelcome fiend that shall be our 

Foe till we die. 



37 



Dawn. 

The brooding dawn came creeping o'er the 

land, 
And stood upon the water's edge and scanned 
The desolate, darksome sea wrapt in night's 

arms. 
And then with pauseless pace its wondrous 

charms 
Spread soft effulgence o'er the mist-veiled wave, 
And lit the sky with torches of the brave. 
Until the tremulous stars went in to weep, — 
And this was dawn! I shuddered in my sleep 
Waking to find the night time growing wan, 
With all my fairy dreams dissolved and gone! 



38 



In After Years. 

What mean our little lives to-day? we tread 
The self-same paths of struggle others 

knew; 
We plan our hopeful hours, passing thro' 
The fleeting ecstasy of dreams come true; 

But Youth's fair moments that our fancies fed 
Perish within the teeth of Time, and then 
Our little lives are wiped away again. 

Our loves and sorrows vanish with the dead. 

Like fragile atoms that are blown along 
A sea of sadness; now a sound of song 

And then to-morrow anguish, — so we pass, 
Fleet are our lives as cloud-shades o'er the 
grass; 
We dream to-day's desire is everything 
But wake and find our days upon the wing. 
We live and love and hope and shed our 

tears, — 
What means it all, my sweet, in After 
Years? . . . 



39 



Little We Know. 

Little we know what the to-morrow brings! 

What trials to still our laughter, or what 
woes 

Dwell undiscovered in the beauteous rose; 

Its inner imperfections no one knows, 
Nor what tears lurk within the swallows' wings. 

Life glides along in gladness for awhile, 

We hope and soar, — and then the happy 
smile 
Dies suddenly as the song some late bird sings. 

Little we dream that night dwells in the day, 
Or that the present pleasure could expire 
E'er we have found the fill of our desire. 
Hope is a flame we feed till it is fire, 

Then do we watch its watered grave and pray 
The dawn will find no more our dream 

deferred. 
Oh, presaged sadness that the winds have 
stirred : 

Little we know what clouds will follow May! 



40 



If I Were Gone. 

If I were gone what would you do, my sweet? 
Hearing my phantom spirit-steps retreat 
Adown the gloomy shores of Death's drear sea. 
Ah, would you in a tumult of tear-shed 
Come after me. 

Over the wind-blown chasms of the sea, 
If I were dead? 

If I were gone would you stir up the blaze 

Of those divine, incomparable days 

Dimmed in Youth's golden past? and would 

you sigh 
Remembering all the vows our kisses said 
In days gone by; 

Or would you turn away, forget to sigh. 
If I were dead? 

If I were gone! ah God, I see you now 
Cloud-pale and fainting with your hyacinth 

brow 
Deep-buried in the grasses where you lie. 
Murmuring my name with tremulous lips 

stained red. . . . 
I hear your cry 

As on the grasses, in my dream you lie: 
If I were dead. .... 



41 



Eloignement. 



I 



Ah, once in days long gone when Love was 

young, 
We wandered by the verdure of a stream, 
Following its course to where the widest depths 
Found us apart, — you on one lofty bank, 
And I upon the opposite. — Tho' wide 
The waters that estranged us thus, it seemed 
We were still near, for Love's uniting hold 
Held us unsevered, tho' long leagues apart; 
And when we leaned to look into the stream. 
Strange, our lips met in one sweet fervent kiss; 
Fondness had spanned the distance, — we were 

one. 
Methinks if all the world had lain between. 
Love would have bridged the intervening space! 

II 

And Yesterday we took the self-same path. 
Wending our way beside the water's edge. 
Tearful and sad with Time's momentous 

change. . . . 
And, as you stood beside me our eyes met 
Over a yearning chasm that grew great, 
Bridgeless, a wide expanse of love estranged, — 
Soul-sundered by the silent gulf between! 

42 



Fame. 

As on a sky-lumed night the stars array 
Resplendent in a heavenly glory lay, 
There shines amongst the many, one bright star 
Supremer and much lovelier by far 
Than all its sister lights; the tremulous air 
Being showered with effulgence sweetly rare; — 
So was the world enkindled by his lot. 
Attainment in sublime deeds unforgot. 
Until he seemed to shine supreme above 
His fellow men, whose fruitless ways were of 
Another world. His life's reflected rays 
Perpetuate shine throughout the future days. 



43 



Invisible Singer — To Arthur Symons. 

You have sung to my soul like the wind of the 

South, 
As strongly as kisses that ravish my mouth, 
As lips that rain rapture relieving a drouth. 

As the sea you have stirred me and wakened 

my heart 
With the weight of a joy which your songs did 

impart. 
And I reel to your side, while my heart calls 

your heart. 

You have sung with a voice that I seem to have 

known 
In the years that are past when our Youth was 

unblown. 
In Thessaly where all the world was our own. 

Oh, minstrel of sweetness that breaks o'er my 

heart. 
To Hesperian groves let my winged soul depart, 
To the flowery fields where my heart finds your 

heart! 



44 



The Wind. 

The wind is rising o'er the Sea, 

A sudden storm sweeps up the bay 

Whose stinging breezes reach my side; 
Just as the wind arose to-day 
Without and o'er the Sea, 

So steeped in hopes my soul defied 
All Time and Tide 
And Love arose in me. 



45 



To Imagination. 

Ah! to have lived . . . aye, also to have drunk 

Deep of life's richest cup of ecstasy. 

And to have seen, and to have felt full well 

Majestic beauty knit to splendor's touch, 

(A sentiment being of soul-impassioned 

strength.) 
Ah! to have lived — alas too brief a span; 
She comes — is here, and of a sudden gone. 
Vanishing 'neath a filmy veil of blue, 
A spirit so intangible and fleet, 
In raiment clothed, in beauteous earthly guise. 

Oh restless soul, why dost thou seek to find 
In realms of fancy, thy repose, thy peace? 
Elusive goddess of Imagining! 



46 



Harborless. 

Sweet, my life is a stray bark at sea, 
Rocked on the tide relentlessly, 
Troubled and tossed in a torrent of tears, 
Engulfed in the loneliness of years, 
Harborless, driven into the deep, 
Straying without the solace of sleep, 
Wakeful and weak as the early stars; 
Bruised with the waves and rocks and bars, 
Wind-tossed, worn and wandering on. 
Seeing the days and the nights grow wan, 
Without the hope of relief, unless 
Subsides the sea, and the waves grow less. 
And you find me washed on the sands, and take 
Pity on me for our past love's sake. 
And lift me out of the sea, and steer 
The tossed little bark to a harbor near. 



47 



Sea- Thoughts. 

I stood by the turbulent sea, 

Rearing beside me angrily, — 

Like some sudden torrent of tears 

Flowing ceaselessly from the depths of my soul. 

How the dark midst lured me 

On to the hidden and inexplicable goal 

That man e'er seeks, but never nears. 

How tempting the throb of night in the air, 

The dull pulse of the waves that rose 

And subsided as the desire of my heart laid 

bare, 
Throbbed like the torment of desire 
Fervent and agitated at my feet like fire! 
Oh, to plunge into the sea that flows 
Ever onward; fearlessly to forget 
The world's great strife, its pangs and fears, 
To drown deliciously in this realm of tears. 
Never to rise again — to let 
Life cease, since I can never have my share; 
To die in oblivious mists, rather than stare 
The naked future in the face, and know 
That You and Love have gone the way that all 

things go! 



48 



Immortality. 

Until the sea shall subside and the whelming 

waves recede, 
Until the splendor of sun shall find surcease 

of need, 
Until the dew-bright hours the dark shall 

supersede. 
So shall I love you, Sweet. 

Until the rose-bright morns shall cease and 

shine no more, 
Until the fervid nights shall pass forever o'er, 
Until exhausted quite is life's abundant store, 
So shall I love you, Sweet. 

Until the desert is drear and discrowned of 

hills and dales. 
Until the light of life lessens, grows dimmer 

and pales. 
Until the measureless music of time dwindles 

and fails, 
So shall I love you, Sweet. 

Until the sun-thrilled air shall exist no more 

and fade. 
Until the vibrant winds their final tune have 

played, 
Until the Tide of Things is quiescent and 

allayed; 
So shall I love you, Sweet. 

49 



The Pause. 

There is a silence lies upon the sea, 

Between each fall of waves upon the shore ; 
Silence so breathless, that it seems to be 
Cessation of the whole sea's melody: 

An inter pause — and then the spell is o'er. 

Oft have I hearkened to the water's play, 

And likened each sweet pause upon the 
sands, 
To love's strange silence that sends words 

away, — 
The inarticulate hour with soul astray, — 

Life's pause that comes within a touch of 
hands! 



SO 



Understanding. 

Lying face down in the disheveled grass, 

Eyes buried in the damp and soothing 

ground, 
Senses alert to every little sound. 

Hearing the stately darkness rise and pass. 

Light is obscured in the delicious dark. 

Heart-beats seem stilled in awesome rever- 
ence. 
And feeling but remains, — the vivid sense 

Of life, as in the song of some late lark. 

A kinship with the force of life, the thrill 
Accompanying Nature's close proximity, 
A revelation of the world to be, — 

Lying within the grasses, lone and still. 



51 



The Unfathomable. 

The unfathomed sea knows not its wondrous 

depths ; 
Nor does man know what marvels lie therein. 
Never will it give up its cherished store, 
And neither land nor shore shall ever see 
The hidden treasures that lie unrevealed. 

So the untrodden pathways of my heart 
Are possessed of a marvelous wealth of love; 
Nothing can estimate the fondness there, 
The measureless amount of tenderness, 
The vast, sweet store of love I have for you. 



52 



Paganism. 

There is no God; my soul has no shrine now. 

It cannot boast an idol from above; 
There are no altars where I kneel and bow, 

My sacrifice is limited to love. 

I see no future state without you, dear. 
There is no life or after destiny, 
For I can boast no immortality 

But that which your sweet influence brought 
near. 

Without you, oh my solitary shrine. 

My faithless soul has nought to rest upon, 

Oh leave me not bereft, — be mine, be mine, — 
That my Eternity and God be won! 



53 



Two Destinies. 

Two maidens sat upon a stile and mused — 
And one was fair, and blue-eyed as the sky; 
Wan with rich, amber hair, and ready sigh 
The other; each to meadow work was used. 
And each alike pondered upon her fate; 
Whether to wear her vestments virginal, 
Or mingle in the mad whirl of life's call; 
Thus did they their perplexities relate. 
The beauteous one averring she would love, 
And she who was less fair to look upon 
Vowed passionate denial, until her wan 
Pale face grew flushed with mere thinking of. 

And then they went their ways ; one with the fire 
Of youth's expectancy and youth's desire 
To dream of love's caress ; the other to 
Rejoice, renouncing what her soul ne'er knew. 

Years passed. . . . And with the frequency of 

years 
Excess of joy for the first maid, until 
The soul grew silent and the senses still. 
And Death closed o'er. Death welcomed with- 
out tears. 
The entered Hell seemed sweet, for love's keen 

sting 
Had been her earthly, living Paradise. 



54 



Two Destinies. 

And she who had renounced and closed her eyes 
To love, lived on forever sorrowing, 
A dim, uncertain Heaven as her prize! 



55 



Le Mort de la Jeunesse. 

The way is long and the path is drear, 
With never a sight of my loved one near; 
For the leaves have turned, and the woods are 

sere; 
And the Winter of life is here — is here — 
The way is long and the path is drear! 

Narrow and dim lies the road before, 
And the world is sick with an empty roar; 
For the nights are sad and they cease no more, 
And the Spring of life is o'er — is o'er — 
Narrow and dim lies the road before! 

Pale and stark in its sodden grave 

Stretches the form of my Youth . . . and brave 

Is my soul that sees, but it cannot save. 

Love lies with the Youth that we once did crave, 

Pale and stark in its sodden grave! 



56 



The Riddle of Life. 

We are so helpless in Immortal hands, 
So impotent beside the Power's commands, 
So childlike in our craved felicity. 
So weak before creating mystery. 
There is so much a soul ne'er understands! 

We seek the light in life, the end in view, 
We drain the goblets 'til our thirst is through, 

We want so much, and yet we know not 
why. 

Wanting and disappointed, thus we die. 
E'en then we know no more than others knew! 

Who can the mystery of life explain? 
Who can make all existing riddles plain? 

Who can illume our lives with knowledge, 
or 

Reveal what has been never known before? 
Or prove but that we live and die in vain? 

We are frail barks that toss upon a sea, 
The rock-bound shores of life's Humanity, 
Encompassed by strange, unseen hands that 

guide. 
Vague Powers behind the stars that stir the 
tide, — 
And this is all we know or e'er can be! 

57 



The Sea Maiden's Lament. 

Give me a taste of the inland life, 

Where the winds unfretted play, — 

Where the calm, sweet hours with rapture rife 
Are far from the turbulent shore away; 

From the sea's desire and the sea's strong strife. 

Where the languorous sun sheds soothing 
beams. 

Where the desert pacifies 
The thirst in me nought else redeems. 

Where the hollow lands echo no cries, 
And the soul is stilled in its longing dreams; 

Give me a moment where I am free 

Of the toilsome tumult along the shore. 

Of the impassioned surging of the sea; 
Where urgent needs harass no more. 

Oh lord of the inlands, grant this to mel 



58 



Uncertainty. 

Oh, anguish of things passing and things fleet, 
Of the eternal tragedy of change; 
Our hopes Time's dreaded onslaughts dis- 
arrange. 

And bitterness results from joys too sweet! 

Oh, anguish of uncertainty! we greet 

To-day's glad dawn with smiles ; yet do not 

know 
If on the morrow Happiness will go, 
Drowned in the dreary Death-hour all must 
meet. 

What of the unlived joy we cast astray? 

What of the ungiven kiss drowned in re- 
gret? 

What of fulfillment that we never met? — 
Delight untaken perishes as May. 

Oh love of mine! so wholly mine this day, 

Renew the rapture for this while as ours. 
To-morrow and the frost may fade the 
flowers — 

Take life e'er all its substance dies away. 



59 



Tears. 

Slow falls the rain from the sorrowing sky, 
Sad and deliberate as tears that descend 
Rhythmic and seeming without an end, 

Symbols of sadness begot on high. 

Gentle the music of rain, and sweet 
The sound of angels' tears at my feet. 

We of our earthly trials and woes, 

Weep when our hearts are wrung, but then 

Think of the river of tears that flows 
Thro'out all lands to the sea again! 

Raindrops are tears from invisible eyes. 
Heavenly fashioned, Elysian wise! 



60 



On the Cliff. 

Standing alone upon the cliff, the sea 

Chafing in angered tumult at my feet, 

The haunt of out-cast bird, — songs no more 

sweet; 
The furrowed rocks o'er hung with sullen mist. 
The downcast sky with heavy clouds set free. 
The blanched hills pallid where the snow has 

kissed; 
The blest and glorious Immunity 
From all the world's laborious ties, — the sense 
Of solitude with Love: Life's recompense. 



6i 



Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. 

Put not your trust in delight, 

For it will fade as the night 

Passes away, 

And then becomes day. 

Joy is as fleet as a dream, 

And though enduring things seem, 

Nought can endure; 

Change is but sure 

To outlive all that exists. 

Change is a soul that subsists 

Without an end; 

Time's ceaseless friend, 

Sister to sorrow and tears, 

Lasting forever through years. 

Change will all things quite destroy, 

And bring a wane to all joy; 

Ne'er will it die. 

As you and I; — 

Delight it is only that wanes: 

Change forever remains. 



62 



Attainment. 

Despair not, those of ye who lose your way, 
And falter hopelessly with joy astray, 
Bereaved of life's fulfillment and the day, 
Wandering through endless dark night after 

night; 
Despair not ye, forlorn of your delight, 
For there will come a dawn to pacify 
The restive soul deprived of its desire! 
The darkest days must end, drear nights will 

die 
At length, drowned by the will. If we aspire. 
The height is soon attained. Do not despair, 
Though long the night, the dawn will follow 

fair! 



63 



A Dormir. 

Ah, Friend that saved me many an hour of 
tears! 

Upon your bosom I have found repose 
When all else failed, and I was wrapt in fears; 

Ah, sweet forgetfulness that my soul knows 
And craves in its dependency, the calm 

For daytime strife and heavy cares that 
weigh, 
The solacing, eternal blessed balm 

For weary woes, regrets that ache by day; 
For longings and despairs, for hopes defied. 

For memories, hatreds, and vicissitudes. 
Ill-timed desires, for love that is denied, — 

The soother of all doubts and fearful 
moods. 
The mother and dispenser of all woe. 

Oh, Friend of need, give me oblivion 
Of all the days' despairs, till one by one 
My solaced sorrows shall disperse and go! 



64 



The Lake. 

My heart is like the lake whereon she sheds 
Reflection of her perfect presence near. 

As some bright sunshine that the water weds, 
As some sweet radiance that the dawn 
makes clear. 

Oft o'er the surface of my heart there stir 
Fond shadows, that are semblances of her. 

At dusk, when day has drawn her from the 

shore, 
And she, the guiding light, illumes no more — 

Then in the severing dark her pilot soul 
Shines soft star-glory over every wave. 

And in the long night hours the gleams 
condole 
The splendour which her radiant spirit gave. 

Sometimes upon the surface of my heart 
Great storms hold sway, and sudden spasms 
start. 
And tears sweep down the lake like passing 

Ah, this is when she lingers far away! 

Oh, guardian of my heart's secreted lake, 
Oh blessed glory that is shed on me; 

A Paradise within me does she wake. 
If only through a brief proximity. 

65 



Independence. 

Tho' we linger long in the lane of love, 

And count the blossoms that deck the trees, 
And breathe the charm of the laden breeze, 
And thrill with manifold ecstasies, — 
Surely our souls want none of these, 

Tho' we linger long in the lane of love. 

For the lane is long and it has no turn, 

And we faint, and weaker grow on the way; 
Dim seems the dawn of fulfillment's day. 
Far looms the vista of love's dear May, 
And the years are long till we cease to 
stray, 

For the lane is long and it has no turn! 

So leave the lane for the meadows clear, 
And speed the hour, till footsteps go 
O'er the open way that true lovers know, — 
Give me your hand and we shall fly so. 
To the land where loves with the winds 
free-blow, — 

So leave the lane for the meadows clear! 



66 



The Desert. 

My heart is like the desert, e'er the Spring 
Has come to waken it to life again. 
Starved by the sunless days that slowly 
wane, 

Worn with the Winter havoc on the wing. 

The blossomless, bare meadows of my heart. 
Yearn for rejuvenating warmth and love; 
But from the sombre skies that hang above 

Only drear rains and chilling snow-storms start. 

Ah, my heart cries for Spring; will it e'er come? 
The flowered hours that loveliness renew. 
The wakening sense of life that thrills me 
thro' 

Nature's release and speech after months dumb. 

My heart is like the lonely desert when 
The Winter lingers long on every land; 
I hunger for the touch of a lost hand, 

And for the absent wakening again! 



67 



The Aftermath. 

Let age with clamorous fingers grip the throat, 
Let dewy dreams fade to forgetfulness, 
Let dark begin, and die without caress. 

Let empty day-hours come and pass by rote. 
Let graceless visions flit across your way. 
Let shrivelled seas creep nearer day by 
day. 

Let Death with threatening hand your age dis- 
tress, — 
If in the starry hours of Youth you knew 

The joy of life, and gathered fruits of bliss; 
Ah, let a terrored age then come to you — 

You lived! — ^who cares what follows after this? 



68 



The Lapse. 

Ah, that delight should die in May 

When Spring has flushed the night like day, 

And driven the winter woe away. 

Ah, that the ungiv'n kiss should fade. 
And hopes that have been long delayed 
Should pale like evening willow shade. 

Ah, that the joy my heart once held. 
Should die like stars from heaven expelled. 
Ah, pallid pleasures, why dispelled? 

Ah, that my Dream should lapse e'er I 
Have lived it thro'; that love should die 
When Spring is here, and Youth is nigh! 



69 



The Heritage. 

I dreamed a beckoning hand arose to me: 
With guiding finger tips it led me thro' 
A lovely garden, flowered with fair plants. 
Pale, delicate lavender lay upon the lawns, 
The sunshine seemed strewn amber on our path. 
Beside a wondrous flow'r of sea-green hue. 
Whose petalled frailness swayed within the 

breeze, 
I paused ; and bent my gaze to hear these words : 
*' Behold, this flow'r is thine, to guard and rear. 
Thy heavenly heritage from sweet realms 

above." 

And when I woke and felt the dream was gone, 
I knew its great significance: Your soul 
Heav'n gave me as a priceless gift to guard 
With love and tenderness unto the End! 



70 



Pastelle. 

There were three things that came out of the 

night: 
A rose, a soulful melody and a pearl of purest 

white. 

Red was the rose and as deep as my love for 

you. 
Pure was the pearl as my heart that adores in 

devotion fond and true. 

You were the melody, grand and sublime as the 

sun; 
And the rose and my love, and the pearl, my 

heart, and the melody all were one. 



71 



Gardenias. 

Flowers of dream-land, — fair as Heaven is fair, 
White as the stars and subtle as deepest night, 
Amorous mystery, rare as our love is rare. 
Fragrant as perfume and fleet in your life as 

delight. 
Debased and discolored by touch of my finger 

tips. 
Delicate, loving, pure as our faith is pure, 
Never could flowers in Paradise gardens eclipse 
You that are fragile and luring as lover-like 

lips, 
Petals apart in a passionate pause too sweet. 
Flowers of dream-land I strew you about my 

feet. 
Only to kneel and adore and my worship assure! 



72 



Hope. 

Hope brims my heart to-night 

Like fiery flames that creep 
Upon a sunset skyline white; 
The ashes of a lost delight 

Have vanished like a night time's sleep, 
Hope gilds my gladdened sight. 

Fear flies across my way 

Like wind, a phantom pale; 

Drear night is now replaced by day, 

Hope is a fairy power at play. 

The shadowy doubts like darkness fail 

Sweet sea of Hope my soul shall sail I 



73 



The Unknown World. 

Oh, dreaded world, unknown to me, 

The unexplored Eternity 

That lies before my fearful gaze, — 

Silent and dark in unlit ways 

That thrill the soul with sudden fear; 

Ah, would that I could cease to peer 

Into the great Untrodden Night! 

Ever before my hapless sight 
The vision of Death's hours creep. 
Until I wake and shudder in my sleep. 



74 



Laughter with Tears. 

Laughter with tears! 
Misery that veers 
Into ecstasy fleet — 
Bitter with sweet, 
Sorrow with joy, 
Love with alloy, 
Sunshine with rain, 
Pleasure with pain, 
Hope dimmed in fears, — 
Laughter with tears! 



75 



The Reaper. 

I who have lived desire to sleep! 

The slumber of longings stilled, the night 
Of soothing dumb dark that will dim de- 
light, 
And scatter the scents of love's flowers, and 
smother the want of love's sight. 
And banish the memories that I keep. 
I who have lived desire to sleep 
That after life's utmost Joy, Sorrow I shall not 
reap! 



76 



Ambition. 

One eve a mountain river crossed my way, 
Sparkling within the violet dusk it lay, 
Eagerly flowing seaward day by day, 

Glad when the goal of golden waves is 
reached, 

Happy the interspace of land is breached. 

So like my soul the stream appeared to me. 
Hasting forever onward ceaselessly 
Towards life's attainment and Eternity, — 

The strange and hidden goal we seek to 

find, 
Leaving our vale of cloud-hopes all be- 
hind! 



11 



The Sea-Lover. 

Beautiful maiden, beloved of the sea, 

Amber-hued loveliness beyond compare, 

Radiant-souled as a goddess, she 

Of the purple eyes and the golden hair. 

Fair in her form as a lily that sways, 

Supple and white on its slender stalk, 

Pale and graceful in subtlest ways, 

Fawn-like and swift in her gentle walk. 

Amorous and stern her lover the sea; 

Fierce in its masterful fervor, and 
Fond as an animate spirit could be. 

Seeking the maid on the yellow sand. 

Moaning in hunger manifest. 

Chafing in turbulent impotence, 

Eager to enfold her upon its breast. 

Restive with an impassioned suspense. 

So, one fair day when the winds blew free. 
And the maiden was saddened with loneli- 
ness. 

Her footsteps carried her down to the sea, 
Where lured by the tender wave's caress 

She watched enchanted: until there rose 

One great, strong wave that enfolded her 

In a fierce embrace; as a lily goes 

Submerged in a current without demur. 

78 



The Sea-Lover. 

So the sea swept on with its captive bride, 
Exultant and proud to possess her thus, 

For the world is cruel and the strength of the 
tide 
With its whelming love comes to all of us ! 



79 



The Voice. 

Like a voice out of the night 

Temptation called to me, 

Pleading in accents luringly, — 

Telling me of untold delight 

To be my future share. 

But like a bird in the air 

Winged Conscience rose across my sight. 



80 



Sinister. 

There never was delight without alloy; 

Nor pleasure without aftermath of pain; 

And yet we dream our dreams and find 
them vain 
Praying and begging life to yield us joy. 

I thought one hour that joy had come to me, 
Perfect and whole without a marring 

sense, — 
Surely it seemed 'twas virtue's recompense, 

One soul should know unblemished ecstasy. 

So sweet this brief, blest hour, delight did 
bring; 

Joy nestled by me as a loving bird; 

Until alas, I saw its feathers stirred. 
And lo! a teardrop lurked beneath its wing. 



8i 



Memory's Sleep. 



Leave me to solitude, 
Memory mine, 

Where vanished scents and rose leaf wine 
And stars of anguish cease to shine. 

And dreams will not intrude. 

Fly from my heart. 
Winged memory; 
Let the past joys forgotten be, 
Quench the old longings utterly. 

Remembrance, pray depart! 

I am tired of my tears 
And memory's sway, 
Forsaken love should die away. 
The wine of passion should not slay, 

Oh, memory, sleep these years! 



82 



The Epicurean, 



There comes an end of laughter, 

And dark devours the light, 
Oft tear-fall follows after 

A moment's ripe delight. 
And clouds so often swallow 

The sun-dance on the sea; 
We know regret must follow 

Upon felicity. 

So, sweet, leave vows unuttered 

That rise to eager lips. 
Love is a bird that fluttered 

Till Time did flight eclipse. 
All joy is fleet as May-time, 

We quaff a while of bliss, 
Then ends our lovers' playtime 

Extinguished in a kiss. 

So fill the present hours 

With all the love you can, 
To-day is only ours, — 

The morrow dare we plan? 
Let love obscure our vision. 

Let kisses drown our fears. 
Mock to a deep derision 

The thought of coming years 



83 



The Sea's Eternity. 

Noble Sea, mightier than men, 

When, oh when, 

Will the tireless tide have finally ceased; 

Will the longing on the shore be all appeased. 

Will the glint of the sun have died away, 

And an end have come to the sea's great day? 

Glorious waters, wider than life, 

What endless strife. 

What maddening joy and desperate woe. 

What ceaseless changes do you know; 

Ah, what will calm the Sea at length. 

What power depose its wondrous strength? 

Nothing can end Eternity, 

Nor still the Sea; 

For in its whelming waves the whole 

Future of every living soul 

Lies waiting for man's death. The waves 

Are his Eternity that saves. 



84 



The Untraversed. 

The white sand lay before me on the beach, 

Pale and untraced upon the silent shore; 

Never a foot had passed its surface o'er, 
Never a wind its placidness could reach. 
And as I gazed the thought in me arose, 

How like my future was the untouched 
sand, 
With not a mark as far as my sight goes, 

Mine to make sad or to be nobly planned. 
Before me unperturbed, undreamed, the days 
To come, untrespassed lie, within my gaze. 



85 



GATHERED PETALS. 



87 



The Church at Matteawan. 

An humble edifice with sagging door, 
Dim-lit, the flickering candles near the floor, 
The crude impoverished altar, and an air 
Of poverty about the creaking pews. 
The awesome silence of unuttered prayer; 
A sense of dreary ardor wandering loose, 
Loud beats the wild wings of the wind without. 
And the worn windows rattle all about. 
The famished worshippers on bended knees 
Pray on, enduring speechless ecstasies, — 
My soul soars higher in this humble place 
Than in a church of gold luxurious grace! 



89 



Valley Farm : Sunset. 



Dusk and a fiery fury in the sky: 
Wings of the sunset hurrying hastily by, 
Languorous winds from the woods where the 

day-hours die, 
Lament of the birds and delight of the dark 

that wakes ; 
Mountainous shadows that on the snow-lands 

lie, 
Mystery that sweeps the sparkling valley lakes. 
Meadows of snow, and the long, lank pine trees 

green. 
Silence as deep as the soul can stand ; the sheen 
Of purple glows on the hill: ah, my heart has 

seen 
Into a world sweeter than Paradise, 
Glimpse of a spot too fair for human eyes! 



90 



Simsbury. 

A long lane lying ahead, 

On all sides meadows of snow, 

Tinged with sapphire and sun. 

Broken by lonely trees. 

Silence at dusk time; 

Murmurous breezes arise 

Laden with odors of night. 

A burst of sound. 

And a tinkle of bells, 

Laughter laden air, 

A passing sleigh, and the cry 

Of merry souls who are free and glad. 

And the dark paused apace; 

While a sorrow hovering near 

Dispersed in a flash. 

Youth with its spirit of joy 

Effaced impending gloom. . . . 

And the long lane glowed 

With a re-arisen light! 



91 



Biarritz. 

A sunny glow on the near-by sea, 
Gladdened and gold with the mid-day light 
Purple the forest's mystery, 
Shadows as deep and as dark as night 
Strewn on the lawns from the leaning trees, 
Willow and pine in the scent-thrilled breeze, 
Sweet the strength of the winter-land. 
Stilled the song of the swallow-band; 
Beauteous realm a glad soul sees! 



92 



Farewell to the Pacific. 

Ohj solace of the sea farewell; 

With tears I bid thee sad good-bye, 
Only the winds will hear my sigh, 

Only my echoing sorrow swell 

With every tide upon the shore. 

Only the waves will know I weep, 
Only the soundless sea-beds deep 

Bosom my misery's plenteous store. 

Sweet Comforter, we part alas. 

Pale sea-lips that I kissed so oft, 
Foam-flowers fallen from lands aloft, 

Shore loveliness, my soul sees pass. 

Farewell, my violet, loving sea; 

The inlands sound my martyrdom, — 
They call alack, and I must come. 

When will Time bring me back to thee? 



93 



The Friars of San Gabriel. 

Lonely they He within their living tombs, 
Enhanced in righteousness, enhanced in hope. 
Squandering the life that God endowed them 

with. 
Aiding their own salvations with long prayer, 
Helping no fellow men to bear their cross. 
What do they gain by abstinence thro'out 
Their youths' glad nights and gold, desirous 

days? 
Who have they bettered by their own starved 

souls? 
Surely the world was given us to combat 
Temptation, Heaven the reward of strength. 
They who resist the evil mingling in the world, 
They are the victors. Not the pious souls 
Comfortably sealed within monastic vows! 



94 



The Storm : San Diego. 

A raging storm in wave crests on the sand, 
The foam-flowered spray arising like a 

spring, 
The turbulence of March in everything. 
Dark hovering clouds that huddle on the land, 
The lowering skies meeting the waves 

storm-stilled. 
The hurrying air, wind-driven and wind- 
thrilled. 

A sombre sense of storm upon the shore. 
The dim, unbroken line of sea that lies 
Restless and surging where the dawn 
should rise, 
There is no sign the rage is passing o'er; 

Until there falls from Heaven a word from 

thee: 
Sunshine is born, the storm has ceased for 
me! 



95 



spring in Italy : Castellemare. 

The first sweet day of Spring! 

May's early child, 

Tender and mild 
As are the songs the young birds sing. 

Gentle the blushing sun, 

Hushed the wind's breath 
With Winter's death- 
Life's loveliness begun. 

Warm air beneath the palm, 

A lily shade 

By hedges made 
The camphor trees lie calm. 

The savour of the sea 

Is fresh and sweet. 

Peach blossoms meet 
In arbors over me. 

The skies smile fond above, 

Yet in my heart 

The tear drops start: 
Spring! Yet we cannot love! 



96 



Riverside : L'Amour Perdu. 



We walked beside the evening sea one night; 
When clear the moon-beams shone effulgent 

light- 
Sweet sang the amorous breezes on the sand, 
The scene was blithe and glad, — with meeting 

hands 
And marvelling at the happy scene before 
Our eyes, we wandered 'long the gleaming 

shore: 
For love seemed won and ours forevermore! 



II 

We walked beside the evening sea one night; 
It was months hence, but tho' the self-same light 
Illumed the scene and shone upon the sands, 
The spot seemed desolate, — our parted hands 
Hung idly; the unhappy scene before 
Our eyes struct fear while wand'ring 'long the 

shore : 
For love had left our hearts forevermore! 



97 



Spring Illusions : Normandy. 

A pallor of Spring that has not come as yet, — 

The tremulous wind caressive o'er the land, 

Faint the flicker of sunlight softly spann'd, 

Delicately gold the sea where clouds have met. 

Silence whispering o'er meadows violet, 

The swaying yellow of the heavens 

above, — 
Dusk and the dreams that come with May- 
time love. 



98 



Christmas Eve. 

Christmas — a still and gentle night; 

Speechless the hills with absent light, 
Starry the sky with a silver glow, 
Silent the woods where the winds laugh 
low. 

Sudden and sweet a melody, 

The sound of church bells songfuUy, 
Spirits of silence and peace arise: 
Dark and the dream that never dies. 

Lora 



99 



On the Shore : Belfast. 

Think of the pity of my poor lot, — 
Desolate, lonely and quite forgot, 
A wanderer even where life is not, 
Come back to me soon! 

Ah, how dreary the wind-washed shore. 
How dismal the waste of what was before, 
Love is a fugitive, — mine no more, 
Come back to me soon! 

The desert yawns in my soul, a sense 
Of solitude quite beyond recompense, 
Forsaken am I and without defence: 
Come back to me soon ! 

Oh, for the sake of our perished love. 
Lord of my joy look down from above, 
Pity my plight and my woe remove, 
Come back to me soon! 



TOO 



Interpretation . . . Tahlulah. 

The sound of night-time silences without; 

The gentle stir of songless winds awake; 
The wingless flight of unseen birds about; 

The tremulous leaves upon the willows 
shake ; 
The stifled murmur of a near-by sea; — 
God's glory in the world shed wondrously; — 

Sweeter by far for your own precious sake! 



lOI 



Absence : California. 

Last night I dreamed you took me in your arms, 
Where sheltered 'gainst a lifetime's hurtling 

harms 
{Your soul grew mine in love that never 

veers,) 

A wonder world was ope'd to me; until 
There came the dawn with its estranging thrill : 
(/ woke, and found my pillow wet with 
tears!) 



1 02 



Mission Canon. 

Two mountain streams that flowed down to the 
sea 
That met and cleaved as one, and thus 

allied 
Passed on renewed in strength and power 
and tide, 
A perfect river, blended beautifully. 

Two souls that met, — your soul, Beloved, and 
mine, 
And cast their lot as one, and with joined 

hands 
Grown stronger, passed into the Promised 
Lands, 
The mingled perfectness of love divine. 



103 



WOVEN OF DREAMS 



105 



The Immortal. 

I am tired of tears and laughter, 

And the ease that follows sleep, 

Of joy and its misery after, 

Of wine that is quaffed too deep, — 

Of hope that is slain by sorrow, 

Of dread for a dim to-morrow, 

Of regrets that my soul will keep. 

I have drunk of the Lethean splendour, 
I have drained the fulness of life, 

Youth that was sweet and tender 

Was drowned in the world's great strife. 

Weary with joy much tasted. 

And the golden hours wasted; 
With ennui my soul is rife. 

I am tired of tears and laughter. 

And the hint of a realm above, — 

Of life and its anguish after, 

And the things that I long knew of, — 

So give me your lips to treasure. 

And the lonely past remeasure, — 
I am weary of all but Love! 



107 



Subliminal. 

My mind possesses but one image, 
It cannot yield or contain any other 
Throughout the long days and endless nights. 

The soul's light glows in reflected loveliness, 

In the brain that bears manifold visions. 

Thus deep in the recesses of my soul 

An illumination lies; 

Steadily it flames, 

Unceasing sweet and strong: 

The great love of you that thrills my being. 

Making all else trivial and insignificant. 

My soul's reflection lurks deep in my mind, 

Until I have no other thought but of you, 

Until all else in Life is obliterated. 

Except your image which remains 

Lovely and clear as the sudden sight of the 

moon 
On a windy, storm-swept night. 

There in the recesses of my soul. 
Imaged within my mind you live. 

Let all else in the world recede, 
Sorrows, allurement, joys or tempting aims, 
So long as you are immured within me, 
I care for nought else in the world. 
1 08 



Looking into Your Eyes. 

Looking into your eyes! 
What a world disclosed. 
What presage of joy there lies 
Of dreams long uncomposed; 
What promises exposed. 
Looking into your eyes! 
Sweet schemes I do devise 
For future hours' delight, 
Day without end or night, 
Life without pause or plight, — 
Dear, I am only wise 
Looking into your eyes. 
Sweet seem the years to be, 
Fair in futurity, 
Joy that my heart does see 
Looking into your eyes! 



109 



Sweet and Strong as the Sea. 

Sweet and strong as the sea 

Is the strength of my love in me. 

Unchanging, grand and sublime, 
Endless as sound and Time, 

Steadfast, reliant and true, 
Faithful with fondness new. 

Ennobling and deeply pure, 
Sure as the sea is sure. 

So is my love in me 
Born of fidelity. 

Sweet and strong as the sea 

Is the strength of my love for thee. 



no 



Disillusionment. 

Cowering beneath your eyes' unwavering gaze, 
I looked from Heaven unto the world's sad 

ways. 
About us blithe the blossoms of love's May 
Made sweet the air. It was love's perfect 

day, 
And we looked on the world's estranging care 
Laughing from happy heights and unaware 
We must descend. . . . Love's realms be- 

dimmed our gaze. 

Frightened within the great world's question- 
ing gaze 
I looked from down below to our old ways. 
About us white the withered buds of May 
Showed Autumn near; it was life's love- 
less day, 
And we were bowed with multitudes of care, 
Weeping from sordid depths, too well aware 
It was descent. . . . Love no more dimmed 
our gaze! 



Ill 



At the Play. 

O mimic world before my gaze, 

What tragedies, 

What dire empassioned ways, 

What ecstasies 

Enacted there upon the stage! 

What simulated rage, 

What bliss supreme that lovers feign; 

What passionate imitations there 

Can vie with what we feel in vain? 

The mimic world cannot compare! 

For you and I 

Stand silent by 

Stirred by a stern reality, — 

Spectators of love, watching the free 

Living their stage love ... yet you and I 

Fettered and sad see Life go by! 



112 



Prodigality. 

Let us not be too prodigal of love. 

For you and I, my sweetheart, shall 

Not revel in its luxury, 

But by a studious denial 

Be miserly 

With what God gave us so much of. 

So when the hour of hours shall be. 

We shall not say 

With haggard hopes down-trod, " Look how 

We frittered Love away, 

What have we now? " 



113 



Defeat. 

Yea I have lost you and I wonder why I 

There was no reason for the wane of love, 
The lapse of fondness we can all deny, 
But when we meet and part without a sigh. 
Going our severed pathways reconciled, 
Ah then, alas, we know but too well of 
The fact that love is very prone to die. 
Even love's hope cannot its death defy. 

And when we lost our joy it was a child 
Not reached maturity, and life was sweet 
With love's significance . . . the days flew by 
As swallows gladly soar north in the 
Spring. 
But ah, I lost you, and around my feet 

Is wound the tattered emblem of love's hours, 
Withered and worn a fragment like dead 
flowers. 
Yea I have lost you and I wonder why! 



114 



Power. 

We love and all life is our own to take of! 
We wake and the world waxes glad for love's 

sake; 
We rejoice and dear love is our heart's only 

choice. 

Lips meet and the meaning of things grows 

more sweet; 
Hands touch and Heaven's joy is our own over 

much, 
Souls unite in ineffable, endless delight. 

We love and all life is our own to take of! 
We wake and the world waxes glad for love's 

sake; 
We rejoice and dear love is our heart's only 

choice. 



115 



The Star. 

Life is so sweet since you have sweetened it, 
Freshened the grasses with your tears and shed 
Wakening footfalls on the flowers long dead, 
Passed soothing hands over the world's tired 

eyes, 
Stirred the still sea and all the darkness lit, 
Swept the pale meadows with illumining light, 
Made day-hours as wonderful as night. 
Lightened all life with joy that never dies; 
And best of all, deep in my soul you placed 
A star no time could ever have effaced. 



ii6 



The Coming of Day. 

We lie on the changeless shores and gaze 
As the shimmering sea sweeps in, 

Jewels the wave on the white sand lays; 
Soon will the day begin. 

A lilac light is strewn on the sea, 

A pallor upon the shore, 
The tide rolls on monotonously; 

That night so soon is o'er! 

A wind as soft as the sound of breath 
Caressive and sweet has come; 

We hear the sombre silence of Death 
And watch the dark succumb. 

Dawn that will take you from me, alas. 

Light that will sever us. 
Ah, that things sweetest should soonest pass 

And render our souls poor thus. 

Like a flow'r you lie in the sands so still, 
A rose sweet hidden from other eyes, 

Mine to be worshipped and loved until 
The amorous night's demise! 

Serene your smile and so calm your brow, 

The silvery surf I lay 
As a shroud about you. . , . Ah, sweetheart, 
now 

Dawn calls and we must away! 
117 



Poverty. 

When Life was glad and gold the shimmering 

sea 
You came to me, 

Laden with riches from the richest lands; 
Your loving hands 
Proffered me wealth, your lips uttered love's 

plea. 
And yet, — I laughed and turned away 
Saying, " Come back to me another day! " 

When Life was sad and still the sorrowing sea 
You came to me, 

O'erburdened with the misery of all lands; 
Your empty hands 

Brought nought, your abject lips spoke pov- 
erty; 
And then I heard my glad soul say: 
" I love you better poor, Beloved stay!" 



ii8 



Change. 

A word — and the world was changed, 

And the light of the dawn begun. 
And then to a soul estranged 

The gleam of the sudden sun. 

A word — and the night was done 
And the endless dark exchanged, 

For the day and delight were one. 

A touch — and all life grew sweet 

With the scent of joys unblown, 
And the soul awoke to greet 

The birth that was all its own. 

A touch — and despair had flown 
Like the swallows whose flight is fleet. 

And the seed of delight was sown! 



119 



Without Him. 

What of the day without him? the dull waste 
Of untold wants and empty moments long; 
The monotonous calm that follows after 
song, 

Delight foregone and ecstasy effaced. 

What of the night without him? heavy night 
That has no pause or dawn for hours and 

hours; 
The odorous oppression of stale flowers, 

Blindness and absence of the soul's sweet sight. 

What of the world without him? the despair 
Of an Eternal void that never ends; 
Ceaseless, unchanging chaos that extends 

Thro' future years forlorn of all things fair! 



1 20 



At Autumn. 

Leave go my hands ; look back for love's sweet 

sake, — 
Upon the leaf-strewn meadows long we 

lay, 
Till dawn devoured night and left us day, 
Till the last longing of love had ebbed 

away, — 
And yet, ah yet, love's bonds are hard to break. 
Ah Sweet, ah Sweet, that death should 

come so soon! 

Release my lips for love is loth to leave: 
Hear our two hearts beating unsatisfied; 
Dear was the dream that death will soon 

deride. . . . 
Rise from the stifling grasses by my side, — 
Would one brief kiss could all lost bliss re- 
trieve. 
Ah Sweet, ah Sweet, that death should 
come so soon! 

Let us not weep but love until the last 
Ecstatic second left for us to be. 
Let unavailing tears flow to the sea. 
Heed not the end but meet it cheerfully; 

Gild death's drear hours with memories of the 
Past! 
Ah Sweet, ah Sweet, that death should 

121 Income so soon! 



Playtime. 

We played at lovers, you and I! 

The long weeks passed without a sigh. . . 

The sweetest roses die, 

The gladdest hour ends, — 
So playtime passed and we 
Faced love's finality. . . . 
Our joy dimmed with the days. . = . 
We went our severed ways 
Without a tear for love past by. 
With ne'er a pang for hopes reared high. 
We passed into the days to be 
As Friends! 



122 



Thanksgiving Day, 

Sweet, on this day, 

What am I thankful for? 

The gift of Youth, 

The blessing of life's May, 

A soul that seeks to soar, 

The choice of life's sweet store, 

Or nameless joys? Forsooth 

My thanks I render more 

For what none know save thee, 

For what none have save I, 

The gift above 

Heaven and endless as the sea,- 

Mine till my hour to die: 

Thy love. 



123 



As in a Dream. 

As in a dream I felt your eager eyes 
In loving glances rest upon my face, — 
And knew the light of life that never dies 
Shone o'er us in our first and fond embrace - 
As in a dream. 

As in a dream I gazed within your heart, 
And saw the new-born love begotten there, 
Feeling the pleasant birth-pangs subtly start, 
Knowing that love was mine fore'er and e'er,- 
As in a dream. 



124 



Love's Disguise. 

The weary night is odorous with you, 

With that strange, soothing sweetness of 
your hands, 
The gentle influence of beseeching eyes, — 
Indefinite recollections rise anew, — 

A sensate tenderness from old-time lands, 
Throbs in the night, — can this be Love's dis- 
guise? 



125 



By the Fire. 

Kneeling beside the fire, — 

The flames on the hearth dying, subdued, 

The big room hushed with still desire. 

The light on your face many-hued. 

Sombre and dim the rafters above. 

Silent in shadow you seemed 

The slim sweet spirit my soul had dreamed. 

Begotten of long companionship. 

An agent of Heaven's supremest love. . . . 

Kneeling beside the fire. 

With lips just meeting lips, — 

The world and the world's torment of desire. 

Life with its turbulent sense of wrong. 

Fear that prowls by night and all 

The woes of injustice passed along 

'Til nought but joy was within our call. . . . 

Kneeling beside you thus, 
Only the flight of the flames to show 
My watchful soul that you do not go: 
Heaven has stooped for us! 



126 



To . 

Oh soul's one hope, 

Dear pride of life, 

Sweet worshipped element of joy, 

Loved treasure of the world; 

Oh precious light 

That never dies; 

Uplifting star 

Shining resplendently 

Over my way; 

Oh essence of delight. 

Sweet meaning of all things; 

Ardor of my heart, 

Perfume of my hours. 

Vision of lovely night; 

Shrine of my soul, 

Religion of my life: 

Oh dearer self, you are 

The life of life to me! 



127 



Heaven. 

Out of a sea of many faces, 
Countenances that meant nought to me, 
Like a moon-star risen in the sky, 
O'er comets numberless, 
Sweetly radiant with hope, 
Animate with expectancy, — 
Rose thy precious face before me, 
After long months of wearied absence. 
Thine eyes met mine, and Heaven was by: 



128 



shoreward. 

Just as the sea steals upward to the shore, 
With labor-laden eagerness to enfold 

In fond embrace the leaning sands that pour 
Their longing to the waves; so I behold 

Your loveliness that is a Heaven's compeer 

Lying before my gaze tremulously near; 

And turn to you with fond inveteracy, 
My shore's assurance of felicity. 



129 



In Transitu. 

You came — and the light came after; 

You smiled, and Heaven was mine : 

In the music of your laughter, 

In the touch of hands divine; 

You came — and the Spring came after! 

You passed — and the light passed after; 

You sighed, and despair was mine: 

In the coldness of cold laughter. 

In the loss of hands divine; 

You passed — and life's Spring passed after! 



130 



So I Have You. 

Let the alluring world with its varied way, 

Its pleasures manifold, 

Its ecstasies untold, 
Its tempting night and its sunny, enticing day, 
Fade forever and ever away, 
So you, my sweetheart, stay; 

So I have you. 

Let all the sunward splendor of the plain, 

The music of the sea, 

The woodland harmony, 
The wondrous lustre by the nightfall lain, 
Die finally, forever wane, 
So you, sweetheart, remain; 

So I have you. 

Let all the humbling horror of despair, 

Of countless miseries. 

Of woe beyond release, 
Of loss beyond assuagement anywhere. 
Descend on me, I shall not care. 
So you, my sweet, are there; 

Sol have you. 



131 



Affinity. 

Yes, you and I were meant but for each 
other. 
Just as twin lilies on a stalk are one, 
Just as the day is wedded to the sun. 

So you and I were meant but for each other. 

Since life began we have been bound together 
In loving bonds unconsciously allied. 
In tenderness united side by side, 

Since life began we have been bound together. 

For none can part us now; we are incorporate. 
And as one being shall we live and love ; 
God meant you but for me, oh, bliss there- 
of! 

For none can part us now; we are incorporate. 



132 



One Little Hour. 

One little hour is granted us 

Out of the world's abundant store, — 
Life is not lavish to treat us thus. 

(Would that our share were vastly more!) 

Joy is a miser of its display; 

We are two suppliant ones who plead 
Only that life shall not ebb away 

(E'er we have found surcease of need!). 

Beggared of life's rich gifts we stand 
Feeling the moments passing by, — 

Fate we are powerless to command. 

(Only an hour, and love must die.) 

Oh, what a pity that fate is cruel! 

Oh, the shame that we sufifer so! 
Love is the fire allowed no fuel. 

(One little hour is all we know!) 



133 



Apart. 

Oh the dull waste 

And emptiness of passing days 

Without thee and thy blessing ways! 

Restless I paced 

Thro' desolate gardens drear and wan 

With thy apparent sweetness gone, 

By an echoless sea 

Stifled and pale without thee by, — 

Along the shores bereaved, that lie 

So silently 

In thy dear absence; the despair 

Of finding thee not anywhere! 



134 



A Little While. 

A little while and love will pass away. 
The interspace is glad but fleet as day, 
A few brief hours no hand has power to stay. 
We love, — and then the face once sweet 

with smile 
That lay next ours grows sad, — a little 
while 
(And love will pass away.) 

A little while and happiness will go. 

The shortening moments threaten, hearts beat 

slow, 
And love is passed and swallowed in Time's 
flow. 
So kiss me now and well, — we shall be- 
guile 
The interspace with joy, a little while, — 
(E'er happiness will go!). 



135 



Maturity. 

When first a wondering child I looked on you 
With large-eyed tenderness, you seemed 

to be 
The sudden dawn-light that awoke in me 
The revelation of a world-wide view. 
And when the passing years found me grown 
old, 
A woman who had traversed many 

lands, — 
My hungry soul with sight that under- 
stands 
Looked on you with a fondness long untold. 

And so the child-heart dream came true at last, 
While womanly love redeemed the unwaked 
past! 



36 



Finality. 

Oh, hold me close within your arms to-night, 
And fill me with an uttermost delight; 
For I am haunted by a vision of 
The dreaded hour we shall be lost to 
Love. 

Withhold no joy from me oh love of mine, 
Put not your faith in coming worlds divine, 
For all we know of Life is this one hour, 
Beyond its region, sweet, we have no 
power. 

Oh yield me one whole life's supremest bliss, 
And drown our fears of severance in a kiss; 
Let us forego the Future, lose the Past, 
To-day is only ours, — it cannot last. . . . 



137 



Expectation. 

The sun shines brimming gladness at my feet, 
Never before has life seemed half so sweet; 
The heavens' loving utterances repeat, 
The breezes bear me message manifold, 
The trembling burden of my heart is told. 
The sun thrilled air bespeaks a tender smile, — 
A joyous hope my spirit does beguile: 
Oh, love of mine, be still! He comes awhile! 



138 



MAR 9 1907 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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